1. Field Of The Invention
The invention is in the field of manual lifting devices for use in lifting and carrying bulky objects from one location to another location with ease and which is adaptable to lift objects of varying size or shape.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
The prior art discloses a number of specialized lifting devices to help in carrying objects having a particular shape or configuration. There are specialized lifting devices for carrying objects such as sheets of plywood, barrels, concrete blocks or panes of glass. Such lifting devices are necessarily specially designed and configured to interact with the object to be carried. They have no universal applicability to a variety of objects to be picked up and moved to a different location in homes and businesses.
The most typically shaped object to be moved are objects having a three dimensional rectangular shape. Typical examples of such objects are desk and filing cabinets, book shelves, TV sets, washers, dryers, microwave ovens, refrigerators, freezers and many other objects of common usage. Sometimes such objects have to be picked up and moved for cleaning or repair purposes.
The problem faced by the non-professional mover is that he lacks the specialized equipment which is available to professional movers and cannot justify purchasing such equipment for occasional use. The problem faced in moving such objects is that there is either no place to get a handhold with which to apply lifting force to these relatively heavy objects, or the place where a handhold can be obtained is at an inconvenient lifting height. An example of this would be the top surface of a desk which extends over the pedestals. While the top provides a convenient place to lift, the arms must be bent in order to raise the object from the floor in a standing position. The person attempting to move such an object must rely on the arm muscles while the powerful leg muscles remain only peripherally involved. Alternately, the person attempting to move such an object must bend clear down to the floor in attempt to grasp the bottom of the object, such as a washer or dryer, which is impossible to accomplish without bending the back in an awkward, uncomfortable and even dangerous lifting position. Of course a movers dolly solves the problem nicely but is most usually not available.
The invention is a lightweight portable lifting device which is instantly adjustable to an almost infinite multiplicity of positions above the floor. The device has a support shelf on the bottom connected to a vertically oriented lifting bar having a leveraged handle extending oppositely from the support shelf and quickly and easily adjustable at the proper height. Since most of the common objects to be lifted have a flat bottom surface, a conveniently located handhold is obtainable simply by slipping the support shelf under a side of the object to be lifted and moving the handle member to the most comfortable lifting position which permits use of the powerful leg muscles while the back is straight and the arm extended. Another of the devices is used by another person on an opposite side of the object to be lifted, or in some cases four people and four of the devices can be used for very large or heavy objects.